DA chief whip, John Steenhuisen, says ANC MP, Zukisa Faku, is no longer fit to serve as a Member of Parliament.
Faku was sentenced in the East London magistrate's court yesterday to three years house arrest for fraud and theft.Steenhuisen says Faku's house arrest will make it impossible for her to do her job, especially in light of the new attendance policy for Members."You cannot have Members of Parliament that have now been convicted of fraud of this nature. Her house arrest will also make it impossible for her to do her duties as an MP. We also believe that the Constitution is very clear on what happens when people are convicted in the National Assembly. We sincerely hope we do not have to go to the Ethics Committee to get the ANC to do the right thing. If need be we will do so to ensure that Miss Faku is removed as a Member of Parliament."
ANC Eastern Cape secretary, Mlibo Qoboshiyane confirmed that a public representative sentenced to a period of more than 12 months without the option of of a fine would be ineligible to be a public representative.However, Qoboshiyane said Faku's sentence of house arrest may influence the way forward for her."We are going to check the veracity of that termination and we are going to request our own lawyers, within the ANC, including our integrity commission, so that we can give the public a very solid response as to how we are going to process the matter of our own MP and COP, going forward."
Faku's lawyer will apply for leave to appeal.
